iPhone users watch far more online video than Android users

Analytics firm says video stats don't reflect market share disparity.

iPhone users sure do watch a lot of video compared to their Android-using counterparts—at least according to video analytics firm Ooyala. In a new report (PDF) published Monday, Ooyala says a full two-thirds—67 percent—of its Web video time in 2012 was consumed by iPhone users, while a third is consumed by Android devices.

The report will undoubtedly feed Apple's party line that iOS users just love to use their devices that much more than Android users. It's important to remember, though, that Ooyala is only measuring video analytics for the companies it offers analytics for—it's possible that the companies using Ooyala target iPhone users more than Android users in their content. Still, as AllThingsD pointed out, videos going through Ooyala are viewed by ~200 million unique users worldwide. That's no small number, targeting or not.

The video-watching numbers are practically a straight reversal of Android's market share numbers when compared to iOS. Ooyala's report cites IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, which put iOS's 2012 market share at a mere 19 percent while Android's sat at 68 percent. Fortune offers several possible explanations for why the two charts seem so skewed, ranging from the possibility that IDC's numbers are just plain wrong to the theory that "Apple users are different from Android users."

Indeed, iPhone users are often "different" from Android users when it comes to software and aesthetic preferences, though it doesn't seem like those differences would translate to something as universal as watching videos on the Internet. What do you think of Ooyala's report and why iPhone users might be making a better showing in the video-watching department?

I genuinely hope this is considered useless information, for one simple reason: I watch plenty of video on my Android device, and I would hate to see content providers favoring iPhone because of reports like this.

That said, there was a time with iOS dominated Android in market share, and those were the days when Android users *hoped* Netflix and Hulu+ would come to their devices (among others).

It's likely that a lot of Android users are featurephone converts and don't really "work" their phone while iPhone buyers are explicitly buying a smartphone and expecting to be able to use it as such.

Anecdote: I know a few Android users who have not-modest phones like the S2 or S3 And use them for little more than Facebook+SMS+camera devices, much like Symbian and BlackBerry owners did before them; I don't see that as much among iPhone users.

This is reflected in the app ecosystems for both platforms: iOS apps seem just that much more feature-complete and well-honed.

Statistics like this make me wonder if iOS users are just more likely to use their phone/tablet as their primary computing device. When I want to watch a video, I usually watch it on the best computer (and biggest screen) I have available, which is my computer - or my TV, for shows and movies. I love my Nexus 7, but movies on even a really good mobile screen are still a poor second to a 1080p big-screen.

Non-geeks mostly go for cheap smartphones, and all cheap smartphones are android. The problem is, android can be complicated - it often requires lots of tweaks (which I like, but most don't). This makes using android to its fullest ability a hassle, so most probably don't bother.

iOS on the other hand, is zero hassle. Anything you want to do will probably work the first time (or not at all) at default settings. You don't have to tweak anything if you don't want to. Therefore, it's equally accessible to everyone.

> Not a great surprise. Apple are strong in the very young and very old demographics, who are far less likely to own their own computer and know how to use it properly.

A lot of downvotes for this? What is it that people disagree with? That Apple are strong in the very young and very old demographics? That's pretty well known. Or that these people are less likely to have their own laptops? That's pretty well known too. Or is it just the usual white knights downvoting anything that doesn't fit the party line that Apple users love their phones and Android users feel indifferent to theirs?

Specifically: iOS vs Android on the left, and iPhone vs Android on the right.

They do know that iOS is also used on iPads and iPod Touches, right?

True - the iPad dominates tablet market share at the moment (go windows 8!!!), and you'd probably watch more videos on a tablet. That could throw things off. Additionally, the touch is basically the only real non-phone/tablet smart-device.

> Not a great surprise. Apple are strong in the very young and very old demographics, who are far less likely to own their own computer and know how to use it properly.

A lot of downvotes for this? What is it that people disagree with? That Apple are strong in the very young and very old demographics? That's pretty well known. Or that these people are less likely to have their own laptops? That's pretty well known too. Or is it just the usual white knights downvoting anything that doesn't fit the party line that Apple users love their phones and Android users feel indifferent to theirs?

Lots of PCs in this world. So many more, in fact, than Macs, that people of all ages use PCs.

The "well-known" you mention = crusty myth. Walk into any Apple store and you'll find plenty of people who aren't children nor elderly, any day of the week.

It would be interesting to see a comparison of users of old and new versions of Android. As a proxy for new and old hardware. Do users of better devices go online more? watch more video online? Etc?

Hmm, do users of better devices go online more? That's kinda like wondering if nicer cars get driven more or if a nicer stereo gets listened to more often.

This is just speculation of course but more than once, Ars has run stories about how Android users wait longer to get OS updates, for various reasons. Older software = poorer experience? Couple that with cheaper phones, weaker app ecosystem and a lowered set of expectations.

I switched from the iPhone 4S to the Lumia 920 and media playback on the Lumia has its quirks, but music playback is utter garbage. The audio player is just piss poor. I watched far more video on my iPhone than on my Lumia and no scrubbing inside the default media player (WTF?) is incredibly annoying. I will say that I no longer watch YouTube videos on my iPad 3 because WiFi on that thing is literally shit. It has the worst WiFi reception of any device I've ever owned, bar none. Apple should be utterly ashamed that its so terrible. I've updated it twice now and its gotten worse ever time (didn't think that was possible since the bar is so low). I start watching an HD video in the YouTube app and it almost immediately drops to something like 240p or less, and my Lumia is rock solid more than three times the distance from my router than my iPad will even play, and I use a third party app to boot.

Media playback overall is vastly superior on iOS, but the iPad is damn near unusable unless I'm five feet away from my router. Makes me want to throw the damn thing out the window and pretty much defeated the purpose of wireless connections, no?

It is much easier to stream to a TV through the Apple TV with an Apple device. My friends do it, my mom does it, my technologically illiterate aunts do it. I stream to my Apple TV with my Samsung. It works... sometimes. I also stream directly to my Samsung TV with my Samsung phone. However this is a combination which most people don't have. Compatibility is lacking with other Android devices. In truth, even Samsung to Samsung only works sometimes and require frequent reboots of my TV and my phone.

The fragmentation problem has been getting better with Android as core features get standardized but this is definitely not the case on the TV streaming side of things. Google's failure with the Q is a huge problem. We need all Android devices to use the same streaming protocol. I need to be able to go to my friends' house and show them videos and pictures from my phone or Youtube directly on their TV even if their TV is not the same brand as my phone.

Media playback overall is vastly superior on iOS, but the iPad is damn near unusable unless I'm five feet away from my router. Makes me want to throw the damn thing out the window and pretty much defeated the purpose of wireless connections, no?

Assuming you live near one and that your within warranty, you should take your iPad in to an Apple Store for an exchange, it sounds like you have a lemon. If you let your warranty expire with hardware your unhappy with well, then that was silly.

Have you tried it with other routers? I have an iPad 3 and it seems no worse at getting decent throughput than other devices in the house.

I think the real reason IOS Users watch move video online is simple enough, its because devices that apples made dont have MicroSD or SD card usually, and that leave them unable to watch videos from other sources. I watch a lot of video on my tablet and sometimes on my phone too, but I usually have the video already at had and simply put them on MicroSD or SD card.

I switched from the iPhone 4S to the Lumia 920 and media playback on the Lumia has its quirks, but music playback is utter garbage. The audio player is just piss poor. I watched far more video on my iPhone than on my Lumia and no scrubbing inside the default media player (WTF?) is incredibly annoying. I will say that I no longer watch YouTube videos on my iPad 3 because WiFi on that thing is literally shit. It has the worst WiFi reception of any device I've ever owned, bar none. Apple should be utterly ashamed that its so terrible. I've updated it twice now and its gotten worse ever time (didn't think that was possible since the bar is so low). I start watching an HD video in the YouTube app and it almost immediately drops to something like 240p or less, and my Lumia is rock solid more than three times the distance from my router than my iPad will even play, and I use a third party app to boot.

Media playback overall is vastly superior on iOS, but the iPad is damn near unusable unless I'm five feet away from my router. Makes me want to throw the damn thing out the window and pretty much defeated the purpose of wireless connections, no?

No. We have 3 sometimes 4 ipads in the house and none of them have any problem watching video. Nor do any of my many clients. You should take it to the Apple store. Or call support.

I switched from the iPhone 4S to the Lumia 920 and media playback on the Lumia has its quirks, but music playback is utter garbage. The audio player is just piss poor. I watched far more video on my iPhone than on my Lumia and no scrubbing inside the default media player (WTF?) is incredibly annoying.

It's shocking that the WP lovers on this site fail to mention a single flaw and talk about it as though it was perfect. Maybe they're astroturfers -shrug-.

Onerunjunior wrote:

I will say that I no longer watch YouTube videos on my iPad 3 because WiFi on that thing is literally shit. It has the worst WiFi reception of any device I've ever owned, bar none. Apple should be utterly ashamed that its so terrible. I've updated it twice now and its gotten worse ever time (didn't think that was possible since the bar is so low). I start watching an HD video in the YouTube app and it almost immediately drops to something like 240p or less, and my Lumia is rock solid more than three times the distance from my router than my iPad will even play, and I use a third party app to boot.

Just go to the Apple store and make a stink. It REALLY shouldn't be that bad. I have one and it works very well, even on the dodgy commuter rail wi-fi. Sucks that you got stuck with a shit unit, but I hear that this is one of the common issues with the ipad. Get a refurb in exchange or something.

> Not a great surprise. Apple are strong in the very young and very old demographics, who are far less likely to own their own computer and know how to use it properly.

A lot of downvotes for this? What is it that people disagree with? That Apple are strong in the very young and very old demographics? That's pretty well known. Or that these people are less likely to have their own laptops? That's pretty well known too. Or is it just the usual white knights downvoting anything that doesn't fit the party line that Apple users love their phones and Android users feel indifferent to theirs?

For one thing, that kind of argument is starting to sound like the carnival scene from "The Jerk"

"Uh, anything in this general area right in here. Anything below the stereo and on this side of the bicentennial glasses. Anything between the ashtrays and the thimble. Anything in this three inches right in here in this area. That includes the Chiclets, but not the erasers."

By the way, the fact that I'm referencing that movie shows how old I am, and I own an Android tablet (well, not maybe "very old", but just old).

Non-geeks mostly go for cheap smartphones, and all cheap smartphones are android. The problem is, android can be complicated - it often requires lots of tweaks (which I like, but most don't). This makes using android to its fullest ability a hassle, so most probably don't bother.

iOS on the other hand, is zero hassle. Anything you want to do will probably work the first time (or not at all) at default settings. You don't have to tweak anything if you don't want to. Therefore, it's equally accessible to everyone.

wait a minute- now all of a sudden Apple products are for "geeks?" After years of being told in the Battlefront that only "geeks" want things Apple doesn't offer?

Specifically: iOS vs Android on the left, and iPhone vs Android on the right.

They do know that iOS is also used on iPads and iPod Touches, right?

Yes, that is what I was thinking as well. Essentially the headline is wrong, it should be iOS vs Android, which is something entirely different to iPhone vs Android.

I mean..really...does anyone here regulary stream videos on their *phone*?

/edit: Actually, I have to take that back. In the original report they are differentiating between "mobile" and "tablet". The video consumption pie chart is for "mobile". So it seems they are indeed only comparing phones there.